Mother and Son – The Clock (1991)
Maggie (Ruth Cracknell) has stolen a clock from a neighbour’s house where she’s been snooping. The house is for sale and is open for inspection. The real estate agent (Paula Duncan) saw her take the clock and comes across the ... [read more]
The Blainey View – Footprints (1982)
Australian historian Geoffrey Blainey takes us from the southernmost reaches of Tasmania to the edge of the continent in the Northern Territory to tell the extraordinary history of the first humans to live in Australia, from their earliest footprint on ... [read more]
It’s Ruth: Ruth Cracknell, Actor (1994)
It’s Ruth provides a glimpse into the professional life of one of Australia’s most well-recognised and loved actresses, Ruth Cracknell (1926-2002). The documentary features generous excerpts from Cracknell’s theatre performances (including Samuel Beckett’s Happy Days, 1991, and Oscar Wilde’s The ... [read more]
Shine (1996)
David Helfgott (played as a child by Alex Rafalowicz) is a piano prodigy, growing up in Perth in the 1950s. His father Peter (Armin Mueller-Stahl) is a loving authoritarian, determined to keep his family together at all costs, a legacy ... [read more]
‘A miracle’ (1997)
Oscar (Ralph Fiennes) delivers the glass church to Reverend Hasset (Ciaran Hinds). This clip also features narration by Geoffrey Rush. [read more]
The greatest Australian prime minister (1966)
Political expert Professor Geoffrey Sawer discusses Deakin’s role in the first decade of Federation. Former prime minister Sir Robert Menzies (1949–66) hails Deakin as Australia’s greatest prime minister. [read more]
The essence of comedy (1994)
In this clip, actors Ruth Cracknell and Garry McDonald rehearse a scene from Mother and Son (1985-94) with director Geoff Portmann. Portmann talks about Cracknell’s acting method and Cracknell reflects on the role of comedy in presenting serious subjects. The ... [read more]
Bush medicine (1982)
Wandjuk Marika is visiting Melbourne from his home in Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory. He shows Geoffrey Blainey some of the plants and leaves that Aboriginals use to keep colds and other ailments at bay. Geoffrey Blainey recalls the ... [read more]
Bit of Black Business – Done Dirt Cheap (2007)
Not far from the bustling Kalgoorlie mines, local Aboriginal couple Amos (Trevor Jamieson) and Gracie (Wendy Martin) are fossicking for gold with a pick and shovel. It seems they have hit paydirt so Amos heads to town where gold is ... [read more]
‘What holds your marriage together?’ (2001)
Valerie has disappeared. Detective Zat (Anthony LaPaglia) suspects her husband John (Geoffrey Rush) of having an affair with one of her male patients, Patrick Phelan. John and Zat discuss marriage in a moment of truth. [read more]
The proper way to end a program (1988)
A recent Geoffrey Robertson Hypotheticals about child abuse has concluded with an announcer’s voice coming in hard over the credits. A viewer complains that after such an emotionally draining program, viewers should be able to catch their breath before plunging ... [read more]
Mother and Son – The Funeral (1984)
Maggie (Ruth Cracknell) and Arthur (Garry McDonald) set out with Uncle Tom (Peter Gwynne) to the funeral of another of Maggie’s brothers, Andrew. Maggie holds up the whole procession of cars while she buys a bag of oranges from a ... [read more]
Backchat, Episode 216 (1988)
On Backchat, viewers of ABC television and ABC radio listeners could write or phone in their response to the weekly output of the public broadcaster, which in this program includes Countrywide and Geoffrey Robertson’s Hypotheticals. There’s also an ... [read more]
The Beach (2000)
Inspired by Geoffrey Dutton’s book Sun, Sea, Surf, and Sand: The Myth of the Beach (1985), this film looks at how Australia came to be the most beach-conscious nation on Earth. This is reflected in the way the beach has ... [read more]
Hiding the pension cheques (1984)
Maggie (Ruth Cracknell) is convinced that if she doesn’t cash her pension cheques then the government will never know how much money she has and take some from her as taxation. [read more]
Lantana (2001)
In the midst of a midlife crisis, detective Leon Zat (Anthony LaPaglia) investigates the disappearance of a prominent psychiatrist, Dr Valerie Somers (Barbara Hershey). Zat suspects her husband John Knox (Geoffrey Rush) of having had a homosexual affair with Patrick ... [read more]
The Eye of the Storm (2011)
Washed-up, UK-based thespian Sir Basil (Geoffrey Rush) and Dorothy (Judy Davis), an impoverished minor European princess, return to their Sydney family home as their eccentric, wealthy mother, Elizabeth Hunter (Charlotte Rampling), recovers from a stroke. The siblings are more interested ... [read more]
Riot or Revolution (2005)
A partly dramatised documentary about the Eureka Stockade in colonial Victoria. The civil revolt was triggered by the government’s imposition of a gold licence for gold miners. The documentary consists of photographs and drawings of the event, some dramatic recreations, ... [read more]
The first inhabitants (1982)
Wandjuk Marika, the great artist and poet of the people of Arnhem Land in northern Australia, speaks to the historian Geoffrey Blainey of being one with the land and of his passion for land rights to assist his people to ... [read more]
A bag of oranges at a funeral (1984)
The procession of funeral cars comes to a halt because Maggie (Ruth Cracknell) has spied a roadside stall selling really cheap bags of oranges. [read more]
